Downsized
by MoreThanMeetsTheEye231
Summary: Being stuck in an alternate dimension is bad enough, but the Autobots also have been shrunk! Thank you Wheeljack. With the government hot on their tailpipes, their only help comes from an interesting source; Hailey, the Transformers fangirl! Will this human be able to help the Autobots escape Sector 7 and get back home?
1. Prologue

Wheeljack happily shoved his loaded lab cart down the halls of the Ark. In his excitement, he had to resist the urge to run to his destination. He was walking so fast he almost was anyway. Red Alert bumped into the inventor, quite literally. "Oh! Sorry Red!" Wheeljack apologized, relinquishing his hold on the cart to offer his friend a hand up. Red Alert grasped the offered servo and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet by the slightly taller mech. "What is this?" Red Alert asked, paranoia starting to set in. Did this pose a danger to the security of the Ark? Knowing Wheeljack's track record didn't help the security director's unease. "Come with me to the command room, and you'll see!" Wheeljack said, his earfins flashing a brighter blue than usual in excitement. Red Alert's helm started to faintly spark at the horns. "I'll watch from the safety of the security monitor room!" Red Alert declared, dashing off in the direction of said room. Wheeljack shrugged. He put one leg up on the cart and used to other to propel the cart he now rode toward his destination.

Stopping his ride outside the double doors of the command room, he reached over and waved his servo over the electronic lock, entering the code wirelessly. The doors slid open to grant him entrance. He was forced to walk in the crowded control room, the main hub (besides the rec room) of the Ark. He swerved around the argument brewing between Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, which Ironhide had somehow been pulled into. He stopped his cart momentarily for Prowl to pass by, no doubt to put an end to the argument before Ironhide snapped and finally just shot one of the Twins. He swerved past Optimus, who was conversing with Ratchet about medical supplies. Bumblebee stood just behind Optimus, holding a datapad with a message from Elita 1 with details on a move of the Femme base on Cybertron close to his chassis, patiently waiting for his leader to finish.

Wheeljack finally ended ended his trek at Teletraan 1's console, directly next to the Sky Spy console that Jazz was typing away at. As the Sky Spy launched from the Ark, Jazz turned to Wheeljack. He was curious to see what the mad scientist had concocted this time now that the completion of his previous task left him free.

"What's up, 'Jack?" Jazz asked casually.

"I'm hooking my newest invention up to Teletraan 1." Wheeljack said, grabbing a few long wires dangling from the contraption on the cart and ducking under Teletraan 1.

"Why?"

"Well, It's a smaller model of a teleporter. I need to hook it up to Teletraan's advanced computers, or else whatever I throw through it will end up somewhere random." Wheeljack replied while splicing the contraption's wires with wires from Teletraan to connect the two.

"What's he doing this time?" Ratchet grumbled, stamping over to glare at whatever part of Wheeljack was visible, that now being his legs.

"I'm testing a new invention!" Wheeljack called from still being underneath Teletraan, elbow deep in its circuits.

"Why aint he in his lab?" Ironhide chimed in.

"I needed Teletraan for it to work. But don't worry, it's a small model, and it worked in every simulation I ran." Wheeljack assured, removing himself from under the console and adjusting a few knobs on the invention.

"Here goes nothing!" Wheeljack declared, flipping the large switch that activated the machine. Everybot present gathered around to watch the invention, which surprisingly hadn't exploded yet. Above the invention's flat disc of a platform, a spark of energy formed, which opened into a small rip on the air itself. Wheeljack started giddily taking readings. Everything was going perfect! Absolutely, wonderfully- Uh oh. "I know that look. Hit the deck!" Ratchet called. Everybot dove for the floor without hesitation. Even Sunstreaker seemed to forget his finish for a nanoclik as he flopped onto the floor. But it was in vain. The model exploded in a bright flash of light, blinding the watching security director as well as the camera he was watching through for a moment. When the light faded, the room was utterly devoid of life. Red Alert's helm sparked furiously and he crashed.

* * *

_One parallel dimension over..._

Nine Autobots lay out on the dusty ground of a mountain trail. Sitting up, Sideswipe complained "I feel like I got my helm bashed in by Megatron. Or maybe Omega Supreme just sat on me." "This dirt is ruining my finish!" Sunstreaker cried in dismay. Ironhide couldn't help but facepalm. _"Wheeljack!"_ Ratchet yelled. Said Autobot instantly snapped upright, from where he had been the last to still be on the ground. "I'm up! Huh?" He said. "Where are we?" Jazz asked. "I don't know. The machine overloaded. I hadn't accounted for that much energy to come from Teletraan 1. I'd forgotten about the upgrade I gave it last week. All my simulations were based off the old Teletraan schematics." Wheeljack said pensively. Ratchet pulled a wrench out of subspace and aimed for Wheeljack's helm, which the white mech instinctively protected. "We could just be somewhere else on earth! Or we may be as far as another dimension. I designed it to do both." Wheeljack explained further, hoping to dissuade Ratchet from injuring him. But it was not to be. With his helm no longer vulnerable, Ratchet aimed for his exposed side. "Ow!" Wheeljack complained, instantly grabbing the sore spot and feeling how deep the new dent was. Ratchet glared at Wheeljack, but was satisfied with his punishment. For now.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Two men sat at a computer console. They were waiting. Just like every other day, they waited. For something, anything to be picked up by the satellite. Both held mugs in their hands. Black, just like the coffee within them. The white design was a logo, the Sector 7 logo to be exact. They monitored and controlled anything and everything to do with extraterrestrials.

Finally, something pinged. The men sat forward eagerly. Was it actually something? Or just another false alarm? Yes! It was real! "We got one." One whispered to the other. "We got one!" He repeated excitedly over the radio to his superiors. "Nine to be exact." the other man amended.


	2. The Government Sucks

Bumblebee

"Well. This is another fine pickle you've gotten us into." Ratchet said, sending a glare towards Wheeljack. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Wheeljack replied, throwing his servos up in the air in exasperation. He flinched when Ratchet pulled a wrench from subspace and aimed it at his head.

I leaned against the steel bars of the cage we all resided in, looking around said prison. The cage was a square box with close set bars. It was about four feet on each side and hung from the ceiling by four thick chains, one to each corner. It was suspended about three feet off the ground. In one corner Optimus, Prowl, and Jazz were conversing in hushed tones. Ironhide and the Twins were arguing, similar to Ratchet and Wheeljack. Being locked up by a human government had tensions running high in our small group. The scientists who were staring at us constantly from every angle possible didn't help.

Speaking of scientists, one finally got brave enough to come close to the cage. I was surprised to find the end of a pencil nudged into my back. I stood and turned to the pencil-wielding scientist. Timidly, he held his finger toward the cage. I raised my arm toward the shaking digit, took it gently into my hand and shook it as if we were shaking hands. I released the digit, and the scientist scrambled away. I looked at him curiously as he furiously scribbled on his clipboard, his heart still racing. Deciding that he would not attempt to interact again, I resumed my previous seat. I turned up my audio sensitivity so I could hear the scientists muttering to each other over the babble of Cybertronian being spoken within the cage.

"They seem to have a developed their own spoken language." one scientist said to her companion. "Indeed. They appear to communicate just as well as you and I do." He replied, looking at where Sideswipe was yelling at Ratchet, clutching at the dent on his helm made by the wrench laying at his pedes. "I wonder if they understand English." The female mused. She stepped forward a little and asked if we understood her. Unfortunately, Sunstreaker was the first to pipe up. "Duh." he said, as if the question was an insult to his intelligence. The scientists seemed elated and instantly pounced. Questions were now being flooded upon the cage at such a rate that it became unrecognizable as English.

Maybe it would have been better to play dumb.

* * *

Much to our relief, the scientists finally retreated. Luckily for us, we hadn't actually had to answer any questions since the scientists were too busy speaking over one another's questions to notice that we'd stopped listening. Once you deactivated your audio sensors, the babble was much more tolerable.

We were left alone in the dark, silent room. "Autobots, gather." Optimus called quietly in Cybertronian. There wasn't much cage to traverse to form a tight huddle. Following our commander's lead, Sideswipe adopted our native tongue as he asked "What's up, Prime?" "We're bustin' out." Jazz said with a smirk. So that's what they'd been talking about. Stealth was Jazz's specialty, and strategy came naturally to Prowl, so they were the perfect bots to concoct a plan like this. That's why Optimus had taken them together as his second in commands. Prowl drew out the plan with Jazz chipping in when he thought necessary. We all nodded in unison and broke the huddle to begin.

Prowl pulled his gun from subspace and took aim at one of the security cameras. Acid pellets fired from Prowl's blaster and hit the lens of the camera, making it instantly useless. Prowl blinded the remaining cameras the same way. Jazz took his cue and quickly made his way to the part of the cage where the heavy and complicated looking lock was. Kneeling down and sticking his arms between the bars, he extended a small spike from the tip of his index finger and started working on the lock. The lock came loose in his hand in moments.

The only problem now was getting out of the building. We dropped the short distance from the cage to the floor, careful to be as soundless as possible. Prowl took a moment to recall data from his memory files. Prowl, the brilliant strategist that he was, had memorized the way we were brought in. If you knew how to get in, you could figure out the way out using that path. Prowl trotted out the door on silent pedes, leaving us to follow. A few turns later, alarms were going off everywhere, the bright red emergency bulbs blinded us, since we'd been using night vision. "They've realized we're gone." Prowl stated calmly. Footsteps thundered toward us from all sides. My processor went into overdrive. _Where now? _

There was a drain set into the floor. "What about that?" I asked, pointing to the fixture. Jazz pried the cover off and looked down the hole. "Only you'd fit, Bee." he stated. The footsteps were getting louder. "I'm getting at least one of us out of here!" Jazz declared, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the hole. "I won't leave you!" I protested. "Get help!" Jazz said. With an apologetic look, the threw me in and shut the grate above me. That was the last I saw of them as I fell into the rushing water below and was washed away.


	3. Meet The Fangirl

Bumblebee

I washed out of a large hole into a wide cement area. Briefly tapping into the internet and using the coordinates my internal systems provided, I found that I was in an area called a wash. Crawling out of the wash, I found myself out on a sidewalk devoid of humans. Cars whizzed by frequently, too much in a rush to see me. I started to make my way down the sidewalk when I felt a sudden collision. Pain surged through me briefly, and I felt as if something had been knocked loose. I tried to move and found it was worse. My motor relays were severed. I couldn't move.

"Ack!" a feminine voice squawked. I heard a crash muffled by foliage. Angry mutterings came from the crash site. "What did I hit?" The same voiced asked, apparently to herself when no answer came. Next thing I knew I was rising in the air. I was met with a human female's face. Now, I was used to being small, but not to this degree. I was small enough that she could wrap her hand around my torso easily. With the arm that wasn't holding me aloft, she was picking leaves out of her dirty blonde hair. The now hopelessly tangled hair came down past her shoulders. Her hazel eyes widened as she looked over my frame. "Oh my god! It's a Bumblebee toy! I didn't know they made G1 Bees! You're heavy. Are you made of metal? I didn't think they'd make a toy that wasn't plastic. Did someone lose you?" She rattled off. She paused her rambling to look down the sidewalk. "Not a soul in sight... Well, I guess I get to adopt you then!" She then proceeded to slide her backpack off her shoulders and shove me inside. The world went dark as she pulled the zipper closed. I felt the movements as she got back on her bike and rode away.

As she rode, I took this opportunity to run internal diagnostics. I was unharmed from the crash except for my severed motor relay. Internal repairs would be able to fix it, but it would take about five hours. Until then, I would be completely aware of my surroundings, since the damage wasn't drastic enough to warrant stasis lock, but unable to move or vocalize. I dared not use the comm link, since the government was no doubt aware of my absence. They may be able to track me that way, so radio silence it was.

Just about then, the ride abruptly stopped. Listening intently, I guessed that the bike was put away, then a door walked through. "Hey mom, dad! Guess what I found!" the feminine voice asked. "What?" a male voice asked, presumably the father. The backpack was swung down and opened. I was dragged out and presented to the parents. The bespectacled mother asked "Where did you get him, Hailey?" The female holding me, Hailey, replied "I found him on the sidewalk. He was abandoned, so I adopted him!" "Very nice, honey." the father said with a smile.

"I'm gonna go see if I can transform him!" Hailey declared happily, darting up the carpeted stairs. She walked down the hall. She walked through a doorway near the end. "Let's clean you up first." Hailey said. She quickly washed me off with a disinfecting wipe. Tossing the wipe into the thrash, she walked through another doorway. As she walked through, a large cut out glared with bright blue optics from the door where it was mounted. "Hey Optimus. Boop!" Hailey greeted, poking the mech's nose as she called out the odd sound effect. What? That's didn't look like Prime. Well, maybe it did a little... I was pulled from my thoughts as she spoke to me. "Well, welcome to my room, new guy." She turned to a shelf. Putting me in the crook of her arm, she looked intently at the shelf. "Now where am I gonna find room to put you?" She mused aloud.

The shelf had three rows. The top and bottom rows were filled with Autobots, as made obvious by the abundance of Autobot symbols emblazoned upon the plastic armor. The middle shelf was filled with Decepticons, also made obvious by the insignias they wore. The Autobot shelves were so crowded that the bots stood shoulder to shoulder or bumper to bumper. The Decepticon shelf was sparse at best. One blue mech stood, Soundwave, with a small jet at his feet and an oversized mech to his left. The larger one barely fit on the shelf and took up most of the space, but even so the shelf had plenty of spare room.

"Would you even fit?" Hailey wondered. She set me on a white desk nearby and took out a ruler. "Nine inches. Yeah, you're fine." She concluded, putting me back in the crook of her arm. "Maybe I should find another spot for R2D2..." She muttered, picking up a small white bot with a domed head. "Nah. He's cool enough to keep his spot." Hailey said, setting him back on the top shelf. "Hailey! Dinner!" the father called from downstairs, stopping any further thought on the matter. "Coming!" Hailey called, running back to the stairs with me still clutched in her arm.

I was set on her lap as the family sat down and watched TV while they ate. By the time she was done eating, the show was not yet done, so she transferred herself to the couch and curled up, nestling me against her midsection with an arm around me. It was very warm in my human cocoon. "You love that new toy, huh?" a female younger than Hailey asked. "Yes, Taylor. Yes I do." Hailey said, pulling me closer to herself. The attention quickly returned to the TV as the commercial ended.

Once the show ended, Hailey headed back upstairs. She fiddled with a device near the desk, and music drifted from the speakers.

I'm not the something outside your window

But you just never know

It could be something right past the turnpike gates

But you'll just never know

If my velocity starts to make you sweat

Then just don't let go

And if the heaven ain't got a vacancy

Then we just, then we just, then we just

Then we just get up and go

Hailey sang along, her voice matching the singer's voice. She swept me off the desk and used me as a pseudo dance partner as the tempo picked up and she started to dance.

Ladies and gentlemen

Truth is now acceptable

Fame has now inject-able

Process the progress

This car is critical

Faith is unavailable

Life become incredible

Now please understand that

I can't slow down

I won't be waiting for you

I can't stop now

Because I'm dancing

She jumped around the small room, and her smile was plastered on her face until the song finally ended.

She set me on the desk. Pulling up the chair already placed there, she took a seat and started to inspect me as the music played on. "I don't see any seams in you. Maybe you don't transform?" She shrugged. Leaning on the back legs of her chair, she reached up to the shelf and plucked off a random toy. "Hello Wheeljack." Hailey said. She looked down intently at the white piece of plastic as she flipped, twisted, and folded parts until the robot in her hands became a sports car. She smiled and set it back on the shelf. "Well maybe you don't transform, but that's okay. Hmm, I bet I know what will be fun!" She turned and got out a length of twine. "Oh, Starscream!" She sing-songed. She plucked the small jet off the Decepticon shelf and tied the twine around him so that he was secure. Taking the other end, she tied it to the fixture on the ceiling, letting the Decepticon replica dangle. She then took another toy off the shelf and relinquished it of its weapon. Sliding said weapon into my hand she raised my arm to take aim and pressed the button on the side of the gun, launching a plastic missile at the Seeker. The missile went sailing over his wing. "Frag it!" Hailey fumed, She fetched the missile, reloaded and tried again. Miss. Another three tries later, the missile struck the Seeker's cockpit. "Yes!" Hailey crowed. Her goal now completed, she took the Seeker off the twine and set him back on the shelf, throwing the twine back where she got it.

Hailey yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "I'll find room for you on the shelf later. I'm lazy and it's ten o'clock. Goodnight." Hailey said. She set me on the desk and walked out of the room. When she re-entered she was in a new, looser outfit. She unplugged the music player, turned out the lights, and climbed up the short ladder leading up onto her bunk, slipping under the covers which were emblazoned with two large mechs I could only assume were Cybertronian. Hailey's little sister, Taylor as she'd mentioned earlier, slipped into her bunk situated below Hailey's not too long after. The room went quiet as the duo fell asleep.

My internal repairs neared completion. Only two hours to go. I could finally communicate with my host tomorrow. Then I could figure out why the majority of the things in her room had Autobot symbols on them. Who was this mystery girl anyway?

((A/N: The song used in this chapter was Planetary (GO!) by My Chemical Romance. I do not own it. Not mine.))


	4. Meet the Alien

Hailey

I felt a tap on my nose. Swatting sleepily at whatever it was, the sensation went away. The realization that there was some sort of weight on my midsection wouldn't allow me to go back to sleep, but my eyes didn't finally open until there was another timid tap on my nose. Raising my head to see what had woken me up, I saw a small, yellow, metallic thing seated on my stomach. "Oh. Hi Bumblebee." I said drowsily, letting my head flop back down. "Wait, Bumblebee?" I cried, eyes flying back open and jolting up into a sitting position. Bumblebee rolled off my midsection and into my lap. "But I left you on the desk... How did you get here?" I asked of the toy. "I walked." He replied. I squeaked and scrambled back a bit, causing the Bumblebee toy to go flying and land on the other end of the mattress. No, wait. Not a toy.

"You talked! You're alive!" I sputtered intelligently. "Yes. I am. I'd introduce myself, but you already seem to be familiar with me. As well as the rest of my fellow Autobots. Even the ones I don't even know." Bumblebee said, gesturing to the shelving unit filled with Cybertronians. "Oh. Primus, that makes yesterday kinda awkward. I must seem insane. Well, I kinda am, but that's beside the point." I said, brushing my hair with my fingers in attempt to make my bed head look a little less wild. "I'm still wondering how you are familiar with my race, but seem surprised to find that I'm alive." Bee said, bring me out of my ramblings. "Oh, that. I-" I cut myself off when my father called from downstairs "Hailey! Time for breakfast!" "Oh. I'll explain later. You just... Stay. Please. I'll be back soon." Without another word, I jumped off the top bunk, landing on the floor on my feet, and ran downstairs. Hopefully my new alien friend could keep himself entertained for a while.

When I finally made my way back up to my room, I quickly scanned for yellow. "Bumblebee?" I called quietly. "Yes?" He called back. Homing in on the source of the voice, I found him camouflaged among my Bumblebee toys. "These are all supposedly Autobots, but I only recognize five." Bumblebee said, almost sounding disappointed. "I know. Let me help you down." I said. He wriggled his way out from between the figures and allowed me to pick him up. I set him down on the desk. I then turned back to the shelf and pulled out the toys I knew he'd recognize, naming them as they were set down on the desk. "Jazz, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Red Alert, and … Hey. Where'd he go?" He held up his hand, revealing the little yellow Kreon of himself. "And me." He finished, setting the Kreon beside the only other Kreon in the lineup, Red Alert. "I also have Soundwave." I said, setting him on the desk but separate from the line of Autobots. "You support the Decepticons?" Bee asked, inspecting the figures on the desk, taking a moment to glare at Soundwave. "No. The 'Cons I got as gifts from friends. I got them all used, except Starscream. Screamer came with my little sister's Happy Meal." He seemed satisfied with that.

"But I still don't get... this." he said, gesturing to my Transformers merchandise in general.

"Well, I don't know where you come from, but here, you're not supposed to be real." I explained.

"Not real?"

"Yeah. You're part of a cartoon series. And movies. And comic books. And a toy line."

"How do you humans know enough about us to make all those?"

"Oh, we know a ton about you guys. In some cases, we probably know too much."

"Who is 'we'?"

"How do I explain this... Have you ever heard of a Fandom?"

"'Fandom'?"

"This explanation's gonna be longer than I thought."

((AN: This chapter is much shorter than I'd planned. But I wanted to give you guys something before I went away camping. Hopefully my next update will be soon.))


	5. The Comic Shop

Hailey

I took the stairs down two at a time. A purse was slung over my shoulder, Bumblebee sitting inside it. He fiddled with the cards in my wallet (which was also in the bag) as I announced to my parents "I'm headed over to the Comic Shop down the street, ok?" My mom looked up from her copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ replying "Ok honey. Don't be gone long. And be careful." I rolled my eyes ay her protectiveness. "Yes. Ma'am. I'll be home before lunch." I ran out into the garage, grabbed my bike, and rode out the large mechanical garage door as it was still opening.

I saw that Bumblebee had his head poking out from the top of the purse. "I already showed you Transformers Wiki, so I'd thought I'd show you where I got some of my toys." Bumblebee nodded and went back to watching the world go by.

Bumblebee

One short bike ride later, Hailey stopped outside a small building. "We're here." She said. Taking a moment to lock her bike and helmet to a metal fixture outside, she walked through the door. A blast of air conditioning greeted us, a stark contrast to the warm day outside. "I like to call it Geeks' Paradise." Hailey commented, gesturing to the shelves. I saw figures of everything from aliens with blue skin to droids with gold plating. The right wall was completely hidden from view by shelves and boxes filled with comic books.

Hailey made her way to the back of the store, which was dominated by a wall to wall glass case. Hailey focused on one area where they had busts of a few mechs and femmes I knew. Elita One, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Megatron, and Shockwave were all on display. "The glass case is where all the super expensive stuff is. I usually end up over here." Hailey explained as she moved away from the case and into another aisle. Moving past an area with all the cases emblazoned with "Star Wars" she came to an area filled with Cybertronian figures. I tried to pick out bots I knew while she browsed. I saw a box labeled "Arcee", but it was blocked by a box with an unfamiliar mech named "Bulkhead". I leaned out of the purse to try and move the case. Just as I was teetering on the edge of the purse, a man was coming down the aisle. I tried to scramble back into the purse, but the chubby man roughly bumped into Hailey (without even any attempt at an apology, might I add) and I toppled out. Hailey glared at the man and started to walk away.

I was about to follow when I was suddenly rising in the air. "Impeccable workmanship! No obvious seams, and apparently made of metal." The chubby man said. He was talking about me as if I was one of the figurines on the shelf, so that's exactly what I acted like. I kept a blank look on my face as he started to test the movement of my arms. "Excellent articulation. I'll take it." _"Take" me?_ I questioned mentally. A feeling of dread started to descend as he headed for the check out.

Suddenly a familiar voice cried "Hey!" A much smaller hand took hold of me and I was wrenched from the stranger's grasp. "He's mine." Hailey said defensively, hugging me to herself protectively. "I'll buy it off you." The man offered. "No way!" Hailey denied, promptly stomping away, leaving the greedy collector behind.

Hailey spent the ride home ranting about the overweight man we'd met. "I mean, can you believe that glitch head? He practically shoves me into the shelf, then tries to steal you! Unbelievable!" I'd realized quickly that she didn't expect an answer from me, she just wanted to vent. So I sat in the bottom of her purse, deep in thought. She'd obviously just proved her loyalty, and she seemed trustworthy enough. Maybe it was time that I told my host that I wasn't the only Cybertronian in need of help. Then again, what choice did I have? Where else could I go? _Nowhere, of course._ I thought bitterly. She was the only hope I had of rescuing my friends. That settled it, I would tell her the next time I could get her alone.


	6. Jail Break

Bumblebee

As soon as we were in the private confines of her room, Hailey unslung her purse and let me out. It must have been obvious that there was something on my mind, because Hailey spoke up. "What's on your CPU?" I smiled weakly at her attempt to robot-ize the human saying, but the smile quickly fell away. I looked at her uncertainly. Should I really involve this innocent human? Seemingly in response to my hesitation, she sat down in the chair facing the desk to be closer to eye level. Her voice was filled with sincere concern when she spoke again. "What is it? You can tell me." I wrung my hands, almost backing out, when I remembered that my friends were in a cage somewhere. "I need your help." I finally said. "Sure, what do you need?" She asked. "I'm pretty sure that what I'm going to ask of you is very illegal." She seemed surprised by my statement, but her voice was full of firm resolve. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

Hailey held me in a loose but comfortable grip. As long as I didn't move, I didn't have to worry about being noticed. I guess Hailey holding a Cybertronian was common occurrence. (Of course, probably not of the sentient variety.) "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" Hailey said. Hailey's parents, as well as her little sibling, were going to see the instrumental concert being put on by the sister's school. (Taylor would be playing in the concert with her violin.) Hailey had gotten out of going to the concert, explaining that she had too much homework.

As soon as the sounds of the parents' car driving away had died out, Hailey set me on the floor so I could move on my own. "Let's get going." She said. She headed out into the garage, where she pulled out her bike and helmet. She mounted the bike and pedaled out of the garage, pressing the button on the controller in her pocket so that it closed behind her. I folded down into vehicle mode and drove beside her, leading the way.

I stopped and transformed back to root mode. Hailey stopped as well. "This is where we met." She said. She seemed slightly surprised by the revelation, but shook it off as she stashed her bike in the bush she'd previously crashed into and climbed slowly into the wash. I slid down the concrete slope behind her. "I washed out of there." I said, pointing to a large pipe in the wall of the wash. Hailey grimaced in disgust saying, "I'll need to burn my feet off after this." She took off her shoes and laid them in a dry place in the wash then proceeded to quickly roll up her jeans. I lead the way into the pipe, the water coming up to my shoulders. The current of dirty water made it hard to walk. Hailey was not hindered though, since the water only came up mid-shin on her. She scooped me from the water, the task being made easier by the fact that she already had to stoop to fit into the pipe. Movement was now faster as she made her way down the long tunnel.

She kept going until we were met by a shaft of light coming from overhead, filtered through a drain. I made a motion for her to stop. She complied, looking down at me. "This is where I fell from." I whispered. "Well, you were the only one who could fit this way. How do you plan on getting the others out?" she asked. "...Keep going forward, I think I see another light." I replied. A few meters ahead, there was in fact another, larger shaft of light. There was a heavy metal grate above us. "I'll go up and get them. Just wait here. If someone comes, just get out." She didn't look pleased with the order. "I'm _not_ leaving." she muttered. I started to argue, but the look she gave me made the words die before they left my vocalizer. I could tell I wasn't going to change her mind.

A scan directed upwards showed no life signs and I gave her the go ahead. She moved me to her shoulder so that both hands would be free as she gently lifted the grate, which she was just able to reach if she stood straight up. She nudged the grate sideways, then grabbed me off her shoulder, holding me up to the opening. I clambered onto the tiled floor, and she slid the grate shut behind me. I was on my own.

Obviously the ground level would be far to well guarded to make an escape. _But not the air vents!_ I thought almost giddily, seeing a vent I could get into. The supply room I was in was filled with stacked boxes. One of said stacks was close enough to the vent to be a convenient ladder. I made my way quickly over and extended short spikes from the tips of my digits. Using these, I started to scale the side of the boxes. I made it up without incident, and had to lean over a small gap to reach the vent cover. I unscrewed three of the four screws holding up the vent and it swung out of my way. I subspaced the three screws and jumped into the vent.

Now in the safety of the vent, I did a scan spanning as much distance as possible, hoping to catch somebody's energy signature. Sure enough, I got a spark reading a ways off. I followed the signal, scanning frequently and being sure to memorize my route. After a few wrong turns, I ended up at a vent leading into a room completely plated with thick metal sheets, most likely bulletproof. There were eight small cells built into the newly metal-enforced wall, one Autobot recharging in each. I was elated to see my companions online and in one piece. Scanning the room, I saw two security cameras watching the eight cages. I'd have to take those out first.

Jazz was the lightest recharger I knew, a trait that was useful in his job in Special Ops, and was therefore woken up by the sensation of being scanned. He instantly homed in on me in the vent. ::_Bee! My man, ya have no idea how happy I am to see ya!_:: Jazz's voice exclaimed over the comm. ::_I'm happy to see you guys too. But I'm gonna need your help to get you guys outta here. If I put wireless receivers on the cameras, can you hack 'em?_:: I asked. ::_Don't insult me._:: Jazz teased. I smiled as I took two wireless receivers out of subspace. One at a time, I put the small, thin disk on the end of my blaster, the muzzle of which I slid between the slats of the vent, then fired them at the side of each camera where they stuck magnetically. After a minute, Jazz called aloud "Bee, you are now an invisible mech."

I unscrewed the vent and dropped down to the floor. The others roused quickly as I crossed the room to where the cages were. "The cameras are on a loop. But they'll know we're gone when they come to get us in the morning." Jazz explained. I nodded. "That's all we'll need. Now how do I get you guys out?" Prowl spoke up "There is a keypad on the wall across the room. Putting the correct code in on that will deactivate the electric bars of the cages. The code is 91784." Electric bars? That explained why they were keeping their distance. I wasted no time in re-crossing the room to where the keypad was set overhead. I magnetized my limbs and scaled the wall easily, typing in the code quickly before dropping back to the floor. Jazz, now out of his cage, extended his grappling hook from his wrist and fired it at the vent, where it caught on the edge. Jazz pulled himself up, then slung the hook down for someone else to grab. One by one, we were hoisted up until it was only Optimus Prime left. That was when I noticed that he was limping. I briefly wondered how he was injured, but I put it out of my mind. There were more important things to attend to. Prime made it up alright, and we quickly transformed, Optimus doing so with a grunt of pain, and we rolled out.

Hailey

I heard a light knock on the grate above, and when I stepped into the shaft of light shining down from it, I was met by a pair of blue optics. As I moved the grate aside, klaxons started to blare, causing me to jump and the grate to clank loudly. Bumblebee muttered something in Cybertronian, probably a curse, and motioned for the others to follow his lead. I plucked him up and set him down in the water rushing by my legs. The others followed without question, though Sunstreaker didn't seem pleased. However, the circumstances overrode even his vanity, and he allowed himself to be hurriedly lowered. I shoved the grate closed and turned down the tunnel. Optimus was being helped along by Jazz and Ratchet, slowly limping while the others were running ahead. _Limping?! We don't have __**time**__ for limping!_ I thought. I scooped Prime into my grip, and we all ran out of the tunnel.

The run seemed much longer going out than it had coming in, but we eventually made it out into the open air of the wash. I set Prime down long enough to jam my shoes onto my feet, then scooped him back up to follow Bumblebee, who was already leading the other Autobots out of the wash. I hastily mounted my bike, adjusting Prime so that he was on my back, arms around my neck, and pushed off. I heard the others transform behind me and eight pairs of miniature headlights (or whatever the Cybertronian equivalent was) illuminated the way as I frantically pedaled home.

((A/N: Just so you guys know, the security code mentioned (91784) refers to September 17, 1984, the day the first Transformers episode aired. Little piece of trivia for you guys.))


	7. Bath Time

Hailey

I felt so much better when we were in the confines of my house. I was still holding Optimus, balancing him on my hip like a mother with a child. Optimus was even holding the collar of my shirt to keep himself upright. I might have found the sight cute, but I was still on an adrenaline rush from fleeing the government.

Suddenly, there was something thundering down the stairs. "What is that?" Prowl asked, drawing his pellet gun from subspace. "That would be Cassidy. I hope you guys like dogs." I explained. Cassidy came bounding down the steps to greet the member of her pack that had returned home. I knelt and held out my hand, which the canine happily licked, then nudged her head against it for scratches. I obliged, and my fingers were lost from sight as they got buried in dog fluff. "Cassidy's harmless." I assured the mechs when Cassidy leaned up to sniff at Optimus, still in my grip, and the others stiffened noticeably. Optimus copied my movements, holding out a servo, which she sniffed, before he too scratched her head.

"You guys brought in new scents for her, so she's a happy dog. Wait, we all smell like the wash! Gross!" I realized.

"We can fix that later, I need to repair Prime fully first." Ratchet said, motioning for the release of his patient.

"Uh, no, we wash first. We stink. My parents will get suspicious."

"Are you questioning me, youngling?"

"Yes. Now, get upstairs before my parents get back." Now I was getting annoyed.

"Now you just-!" Ratchet was obviously annoyed too, but I cut him off anyways.

"Ratchet, is he stable?"

He seemed surprised. "Don't insult me, of course he is!"

"Then repairs can wait, can't they? Upstairs, now."

I stood up and we had a glaring contest. I stood stock still, finger pointing toward the stairwell expectantly. Optimus kept looking between us, as did the others. Eventually Ratchet relented and walked in the direction I'd been pointing.

"I think I like her already." I heard Sideswipe whisper to his twin. Ratchet and I both looked at the pair simultaneously. My gaze held amusement while Ratchet sent an icy glare before continuing, joining the group already moving.

Sideswipe had yet to move, so I lightly kicked him in the aft, saying "That means you've gotta go too. Get moving!" Sideswipe flew a foot or so, but managed to stay on his feet. Sunstreaker was laughing at his brother's expense, but he started moving. "I take that back." Sideswipe muttered under his breath. "I heard that!" I called over my shoulder. I waited a moment, then called "That too!" I hadn't actually heard anything, but to my satisfaction Sideswipe cried "Oh _come on!_"

We made it upstairs, and I lead the way into the bathroom. I set a step stool in front of the tub and the mechs started jumping in as warm water flowed into the tub. I plugged the drain and gently set Optimus in the tub. "Here's the soap," I said, tossing a few bottles into the water, where they floated, "Your choices are strawberry, coconut, or lavender. Make yourselves not stink, 'kay boys?" With that, I walked out to pick out some PJs to change into.

Clean clothes in hand, I returned to the bathroom a few minutes later, and the mechs were still in there. The twins had devolved into a splash fight, somehow roping in Ironhide and Bumblebee as well. Ratchet was helping Optimus wash his unresponsive leg. Wheeljack was making bubbles and watching them float briefly before popping. Finally, Jazz was standing behind Prowl, helping wash his doorwings. "Jazz, you're still filthy." I stated. "Prowl wouldn't let Jazz help for awhile." Wheeljack said casually, watching an impressively big bubble float up then pop. Jazz shrugged, wordlessly saying "Pretty much."

"Okay Jazz, you go clean yourself. I've got this." Jazz waded away in the waist deep water, Prowl looking like he was about to object. "I know doorwings are sensitive. I'll be careful, promise." Prowl reluctantly stopped jerking away from me any time my hands got close. I grabbed a bottle of liquid soap and grabbed the washcloth that had sunk to the bottom of the tub. Applying a small dap of soap to the cloth, I started to gently scrub at Prowl's back.

Pretty soon, Prowl was vibrating slightly, his engine purring in pleasure. "Was that so bad?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. The tactician, embarrassed, simply exited the tub. "Here, dry off." I said, I threw a towel over him. Without comment, he pulled it off his head and started to towel off.

"Now me!" Jazz called, still in the tub. "Seriously?" I asked. The saboteur nodded enthusiastically. "You have no shame." I said, but I got back down in front of the tub. "Lost that a long time ago." Jazz replied. I gave him a scrubbing as well, and he started purring (there is no better word for it) just as Prowl had. He, however, was not embarrassed about it.

Now that the mechs were clean, I kicked them out of the bathroom. "I still stink, so get out. Bee'll show you which one's my room. Just chill for a few minutes, ok?" I said, before I punted Sideswipe again (much to his brother's amusement) and shut the door. I stripped out of the dirty clothes and stepped under the flow of hot water issuing from the shower head. I quickly finished the actual cleaning process, but stood enjoying the heat for a few minutes.

"Hailey?" A voice called from somewhere in the cloud of steam filling the room. With an undignified yelp, I slipped and fell. A few bottles of soap fell off the shelves and landed on top of me.

"Fraggit! Whoever you are, close your eyes!" I ordered, trying to cover myself and failing.

"It's just Wheeljack! Why-" the voice replied.

"Close your eyes! I'm _naked!" _

There was a pause. Then, he spoke again. "Yeah, I'm technically naked too. So what?"

"_Just shut them!"_ I hissed.

"Ok! Ok! I did!"

Sure enough, his optics were dark. I turned off the water, squeezed the water out of my hair, snatched a towel off the rack and wrapped it around myself. I briefly wondered how the engineer had opened the door, considering the doorknob was far above his head, the mech only being a few inches taller than a foot. "Okay. You can open 'em. Wheeljack, you don't just walk into the bathroom when someone's using it. Big no no." Wheeljack onlined his optics again, replying "Sorry. I just wanted to know what this is for." I looked at what he was holding and went bright pink. Clutched in his hand was one of my bras. "I found this and asked Jazz, since he seems to adapt to new cultures the fastest. He laughed and told me to ask you." He went on, becoming interested in poking at the underwire. I went from pink to red as I explained "It's an article of clothing. May I please have it back?" He handed it back and I went out of the bathroom to put it away before anyone else saw.

I entered my bedroom and plopped onto the edge of the lower bunk (my sister's bed), watching the miniature mechs putter around the room. As I watched Ratchet weld something at the back of Optimus's knee, I realized that I was a _criminal_. I'd helped these guys break out, and now the government would be looking for them and for me. I suddenly felt like a fugitive. They didn't know they were looking for me, but if they found the bots I couldn't possibly be considered blameless. My heart clenched. I flopped on the bed, eyes closed, reaching up to rub my temples as my back hit the mattress.

Wheeljack had followed me into the room, and apparently onto the bed. I hadn't realized this until there was suddenly weight on my stomach. I opened my eyes to find the mech perched cross-legged on top of me. He looked concerned as he asked "You feeling alright?"

"Yeah. Just a little overwhelmed." I said before sighing. Wheeljack seemed surprised when his seat sank, then rose again as I inhaled.

"Woah! What did you do?" Wheeljack asked excitedly.

"Breathed?" I answered with a smile.

"Do that again!" Wheeljack said, excited to investigate the new phenomena. He started gently poking at me in attempt to get the reaction again.

"Hey, that tickles!" I protested as he poked at my side, causing me to giggle.

"Woah!" Wheeljack cried as the laughter sent him bouncing, which only caused me to laugh more, and him to bounce more in a vicious cycle. The cycle was broken when Wheeljack fell off, allowing me to sit up.

"Hey, Wheeljack?" I said after a moment.

"Yeah?" He asked, straightening himself out to sit like me.

"How did Optimus get hurt?"

"Sector 7. After we got Bee out, we kept running. Sector 7 quickly caught up. One of them must have been trigger happy, because he shot Prime even after we'd made it clear that we surrendered. After that, they wouldn't let Ratchet fix him. Hardly had time to clamp the leaking energon line before we were all forcefully separated."

"People are so stupid! Humans really suck sometimes." I lamented, watching Ratchet pull the bullet out of Prime at long last.

"But you're human."

"So?"

"I don't think you suck."

I smiled. "Thanks, Wheeljack."

The moment was shattered as the sound of the garage door opening was heard. The bots all stopped. "My parents are home." Hailey explained to the bots since the rumble of the mechanical door startled them. Then I realized suddenly, panic setting in, "My parents are home and my bedroom is full of aliens!"


End file.
